Top seeds will clash in the boys' final of Dubai junior tennis championships
Dubai The top two seeds will clash in the boys' singles final while one of the qualifiers will be hoping to continue her dream run in the girls singles final at the 9th Dubai ITF Tennis Juniors being played at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.
Top seed Julian Lenz eased his way past doubles partner and third seed Haadin Bava of India 6-1, 6-3; while second seed Constantin Christ defeated fourth seed Jannis Kahlke 6-3, 6-3 for an all-German boys' singles final today.
In the girls' singles, seventh seed Despoina Vogasari of Greece beat Dutch girl Maurien Rikkert 6-3, 6-3 to set up a much-anticipated clash against Italian qualifier Deborah Chiesa who outplayed Turkish qualifier Naz Karagoz 6-1, 6-1 in the second semi-final yesterday.
"She [Vogasari] was consistent and my serve gave way," lamented Rikkert after her loss in straight sets to the third seed from Greece.
"This was a good tournament for me and I put it down to bad luck," added the Dutch girl.
Italian Chiesa is enjoying her run after coming through the qualifiers last Saturday. "I came to play and I realised that I can all go all the way here after the qualifying round," Chiesa said.
Chiesa, who is here with her mother Alessandra and older sister Giorgia, is confident she can even win today. "Now that I am here, I don't want to stop. I want to win," added the 16-year- old.
Karagoz was disappointed in the manner in which she succumbed to her opponent from Greece. "I didn't feel good at all. Today was not my day," Karagoz blurted.
Setting record straight
"I had horrible footwork and I could not use my strokes. I could have gone all the way here," rued the lanky Turk.
Meanwhile in the boys' singles, second-seeded Christ wants to set the record straight when he faces fellow German and top seed Lenz in today's final.
The two have met twice before with the record sitting equal at 1-1. "I am not at my best yet, but hopefully the record will be 2-1 in my favour after tomorrow's final," Christ said.
Third seed Bava was left ruing his missed chances against the top-seeded Lenz. "I did have my chances, but I did not make use of these. Somehow I was heavy and struggling with my backhand," Bava said.
ZARINA FERNANDES/Gulf News
Eyes on the ball
Seventh-seed Despoina Vogasari (left) from Greece will face Deborah Chiesa in the final while top-seed Julian Lenz (centre) from Germany takes on compatriot Constantin Christ (right) for the boys' title in the ITF Junior tennis tournament today.
ZARINA FERNANDES/Gulf News
On a roll
Deborah Chiesa from Italy hits a double-fisted backhand to Naz Karagoz from Turkey in the semi-finals?of the ITF Junior tennis tournament. The Italian qualifier outplayed her rival to have a shot at the title.
Boys' singles semi-finals: Julian Lenz bt Haadin Bava 6-1, 6-3; Constantin Christ bt Jannis Kahlke 6-3, 6-3.
Girls' singles semi-finals: Despoina Vogasari bt Maurien Rikkert 6-3, 6-3; Deborah Chiesa bt Naz Karagoz 6-1, 6-1.
Today's schedule: Boys and girls singles finals at 4 pm (Dubai Tennis Stadium, Al Garhoud).
RESULTS
